DOJ Raises Concerns About Maricopa County Election Audit

The U.S. Department of Justice on May 5 raised concerns about the ongoing 2020 election audit in Maricopa County, Arizona. In a letter (pdf) to Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, DOJ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela Karlan cited news reports to inquire about the custody of the ballots currently under review by a group of private contractors. Karlan also complained that a portion of the audit work that involves canvassing the addresses on the ballots may amount to “voter intimidation.” “The first issue relates to a number of reports suggesting that the ballots, elections systems, and election materials that are the subject of the Maricopa County audit are no longer under the ultimate control of state and local elections officials, are not being adequately safeguarded by contractors at an insecure facility, and are at risk of being lost, stolen, altered, compromised, or destroyed,” Karlan wrote, citing a pair of news articles as …